Kwanghyun Lim: "Urgent Need to Improve the 500 Million Won Minimum for Spousal Inheritance Deduction"

Comprehensive Policy Inquiry by the Special Budget Committee on August 25

"Tax Burden on the Middle Class Rises with Inflation... Needs Normalization"

Kwanghyun Lim, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, stated on August 25 that there is a need to improve the minimum deduction limit for spousal inheritance, which currently stands at 500 million won.

Commissioner Lim made this remark during the comprehensive policy inquiry by the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, in response to a question from Assemblyman Song Eon-seok of the People Power Party regarding the limit on spousal inheritance deductions.

Kwanghyun Lim, Commissioner of the National Tax Service.

Commissioner Lim said, “To my knowledge, the spousal deduction has remained at 500 million won for about 27 to 28 years,” and added, “I believe it is urgent to improve this.” The minimum amount for the spousal inheritance deduction was set at 500 million won in 1997 and has remained unchanged ever since.

As a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, Commissioner Lim had previously sponsored a bill in 2024 to raise the minimum amount for the spousal inheritance deduction to 1 billion won, as part of efforts to ease the tax burden on the middle class.

In addition, when Budget Committee Chairman Lee Kwang-jae remarked that the overall tax laws and tax base, among other issues, should be reviewed comprehensively in line with the current era, Commissioner Lim explained, “Because inflation has led to an increased tax burden on the middle class, such matters need to be normalized.”

However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the relevant authority, is not currently considering a revision of the spousal inheritance deduction. On this day, Second Vice Minister Heo Jang of the ministry responded, “As of now, I am not aware of any special or additional review being conducted.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.